I assembled the strongest swordsman group.

Page 809

"I paid for his tea."

Nishino said.

The saleswoman didn't care who paid for it; as long as she got paid, that was enough.

"Okay! Thank you for your patronage!"

Miss Teshiro took the copper coin, gave Nishino and my grandson a sweet smile, and then strode away with cheerful steps.

My grandson watched the young lady with the handbag leave as he stuffed his wallet into his pocket.

"Oh dear, Nishino-sama, how can you do this to me?"

Don't worry about it.

"Nishino said calmly."

"Consider this payment for the tea as my way of thanking you."

"A thank you?"

"My dear grandson, thank you for your help the other day."

"Huh? A while ago? Helped you? When did I ever help you?"

My grandson tilted his head in confusion.

"Thank you for the information you provided on the day the bodies of the Kanazawa siblings were discovered."

Although I had long heard of my grandson's great reputation, Nishino had never established a personal relationship with him because we belonged to different departments.

It wasn't until recently, when he went to the site where the Jinze siblings were murdered to oversee the case, that the two had their first conversation.

At that time, my grandson arrived at the murder scene a step ahead of Nishino.

After Nishino arrived, he concisely told Nishino about the fatal wounds of the Kanazawa siblings and the general physical characteristics of the murderer that he had observed.

Afterwards, Nishino inquired about the incident and found out that when his grandson arrived at the scene, he didn't even bend down, let alone carefully observe the scene. He just stood there straight and casually glanced around – that was all.

Just by standing and scanning his surroundings, he was able to gather so much information... This insight and keenness left Nishino in awe.

"Oh, that one~"

My grandson grinned.

"It's just a trivial matter, there's no need to thank me so formally."

"Even without my help, you'll definitely be able to gather that intelligence quickly on your own."

"My grandson..."

Just as Nishino was about to say something more, my grandson waved his hand with a smile, interrupting him.

"No need to call me 'sir', you and I are roughly the same age, we can just address each other as equals."

"...Alright then, Sunzi-kun, what brings you here to drink tea? As far as I know, shouldn't the Fire Thief Kai be quite busy lately?"

Nishino expressed his doubts in a tactful way.

The aftermath of the arsonist's attempt to seize the government office was breached by a mere four unidentified warriors—an event whose repercussions continue to reverberate throughout Edo to this day.

This is an unprecedented "black swan" event since the Fire-Fighting Thieves were reorganized into a team.

First there was the "Akabane family massacre," then the "headquarters attack," and the fire thieves changed their positions... Especially a high-ranking leader like my grandson, he should be busy trying to quell the trouble right now, right?

My grandson seemed to have anticipated Nishino's question; he remained calm and smiled slightly.

"I found those things so boring, so I ran away~~"

"……what?"

Nishino remained silent for a long while before letting out a soft "Ha".

For a moment, Nishino wondered if he had misheard.

Despite Nishino's obvious wavering and subsequent question, Abiko remained calm and composed, continuing in a tone tinged with a hint of mockery:

"Finally, I have absolutely no interest in finding the real culprit behind the 'Red Feather Family Massacre' and the one who caused our government office to become such a pitiful state."

"Compared to that, I'd rather know who killed Kanazawa-kun and Kanazawa-san~~"

"Are you trying to avenge your friend?"

It's understandable that Jin Zezhongfu and my grandson served in the same court and had a very deep friendship, where they couldn't sleep or eat without avenging each other.

But to my surprise, my grandson gently shook his head.

No, that's not true.

"Although I do have a pretty good relationship with Jinze, I am not here for any fancy reason like 'avenging him'."

"The reason I was willing to abandon all my work to find out who killed the Kanazawa siblings was simply because I was curious."

"……curious?"

Nishino, in a tentative tone, repeated the words that my grandson had just uttered.

"Yes. Curiosity, that's all."

Just then, the black tea my grandson ordered arrived.

"Here you are, sir! Be careful, it's hot!"

"Thank you."

My grandson took the teacup and, without blowing on it, began to sip it.

He seemed quite satisfied with the taste of the tea; after the mellow aroma entered his mouth, his eyebrows arched in a pleased smile.

"Oh, right, Nishino-kun, there's something wrong with what you just said~~"

"I didn't come here just to drink tea."

"To be honest, it's a wonderful coincidence that I ran into you here."

At this point, my grandson slowly put down his teacup.

"This teahouse is really great. Not only is the tea delicious, but the view is also impeccable."

For a moment, Nishino's eyebrows twitched slightly.

He slowly raised his eyes, which showed five parts surprise, three parts delight, and two parts indifference.

As he raised his gaze, he was met with eyes that were staring straight at him, eyes tinged with a strange smile.

"Nishino-kun, you must have the same reason as me for having tea here, right?"

"..."

"Criminals always return to the scene of the crime, am I right?"

"..."

In an instant, silence reigned over the small space centered around Nishino and my grandson.

About five seconds later, two bursts of laughter, almost simultaneously, shattered the silence.

"Ah……"

"Hehe..."

Nishino smiled.

Although it was just a slight curve at the corners of her mouth, she was indeed smiling.

This is a genuine smile, as if seeing a fellow enthusiast.

However, their smiles at each other lasted only a short while.

My grandson picked up his teacup and calmly took another sip of tea.

"Let's not talk about that... Nishino-kun, I'm pretty lucky. I haven't even had time to warm the seat before I've already made some gains."

After he finished speaking, a meaningful look appeared on my grandson's cheeks.

Nishino didn't respond... not because he was being aloof, but because he didn't have time to talk to my grandson right now.

Both Nishino and my grandson were staring intently at each other—but in reality, they were both keeping an eye on everything happening at the crime scene outside the window out of the corner of their eyes!

At that moment, on that small riverbank, a tall, slender warrior was seen sneaking around furtively.

Sometimes he would squat down.

Sometimes it stands still.

Regardless of his position, he always faced the same direction—the land that had been soaked with the blood of the Kanazawa siblings!

"What a pity, I was hoping to drink more."

The very next instant after my grandson finished speaking—

Click!

Nishino and my grandson grabbed their respective swords and rushed downstairs!

……

at the same time--

Edo, Tsukimiya Shrine, Aoto's room—

Thump, thump, thump, thump, thump...